Technical Field
This disclosure relates to an imaging device, an image forming apparatus, and a method for detecting a deviation in landing position.
Description of the Related Art
Many inkjet image forming apparatuses discharge ink from a recording head mounted on a carriage, thereby forming an image on a recording medium while moving the carriage forward and backward in a main scanning direction. In such a configuration, even when the image forming apparatus is controlled to discharge ink to an identical position, it is possible that the position at which the ink lands on the recording medium differs between forward travel of the carriage and backward travel of the carriage. This positional deviation is called deviation in ink landing position.
The cause of such deviation in ink landing position is not limited to the difference in travel direction of the carriage that moves forward and backward. The deviation in ink landing position may be caused by, for example, an error in attachment position of the recording head to the carriage. Specifically, in a configuration including a plurality of recording heads for image formation, due to an error in attaching the plurality of recording heads to the carriage, the relative positions between the recording heads differ from the designed relative positions. Then, deviations in ink landing position occur between the recording heads.
In the case of deviation in ink landing position, for example, a parameter relating to a position of image formation by the image forming apparatus is adjusted to resolve the deviation. To adjust the position of image formation, it is known that a predetermined test pattern is formed on a recording medium and the test pattern is read with a sensor (a variety of sensors is usable) to detect the deviation in ink landing position.